About us

Barts Academic Festival Chorus & Orchestra – or just ‘BAFCO’ when you really don’t have the time to type it all in – is the creation of a variety of people who simply love music. Foremost in its 40-year history is John S P Lumley, MS FRCS Professor of Surgery, St. Bartholomew’s and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Honorary Consultant Surgeon, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. Member of Council, Royal College of Surgeons of England, Past World President, International College of Surgeons.

Well, that’s what it says on his CV, but now we’ve got that out of the way, we will refer to John in the rest of the site as just John or JSPL.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that all of it was John’s doing. There are a whole host of others who contributed to the BAFCO story, and by no means were all of them medical types. For the full history, click on the History page.

As for the here and now, if you like singing, we meet every Friday at 7 pm in the Church of St Bartholemew The Less, which you will find within the grounds of Barts Hospital. We are always in need of good singers for SATB parts. To let us know you are coming, drop us a line via the Contact page.

Welcome

Existing or former members or fans of BAFCO, please click the Register link below. This will allow you to leave comments on most pages, maybe add memories or elaborate on what’s already here.

NEW SINGERS WELCOME

We welcome all voices - if you can sing in tune and have lots of enthusiasm, you will be welcome, with no formal audition or musical tests.
We meet on Fridays from 7.00 - 9.00 pm in Barts-the-Less - just on the left inside the Barts Hospital Henry VIII Gate, opposite Smithfield Meat Market.
For information on what we are rehearsing now, and for answers to any other queries you may have, call 020 7588 3635.